Covid-19 Overwhelm
On Monday, during the long drive home from work, I was catching up with the day’s corona virus news on the radio. At the same time I was thinking about the dreadful day I’d had at work that day, and the previous weekend, being caught up with toilet paper dramas, panic shopping as well as cranky and abusive shoppers.
During the past week, I’ve felt more stressed than I’ve ever felt in my entire working life. I decided then and there that I had enough. I would no longer let myself get overwhelmed by this crisis. There is bad news coming at us from everywhere, during this time of disruption to our regular routines.
G.E.M
Five minutes later, there was an interview that took my attention immediately. It seemed that the universe sent this interview to me just at the time that I needed to hear it. A pyschologist, who’s name I didn’t catch, started to talk about the G.E.M. method that she is using at the moment, while facing so much bad news and feeling fear about the future.
This psychologist had come up with this acronym for herself and her patients to focus on, which would help them to cope.I have decided to try out the G.E.M. way of thinking, and just see how it goes.
G – Gratitude E – Empathy M – Mindfulness
Gratitude
The systematic study of gratitude within psychology only began around the year 2000, possibly because psychology traditionally focused more on understanding distress than on understanding positive emotions. The study of gratitude within psychology has included the understanding of the short term experience of the emotion of gratitude, individual differences in how frequently people feel gratitude, and the relationship between these two aspects, as well as the therapeutic benefits of gratitude. – wikipedia
Gratitude is a bit of a buzz word at the moment, and that’s not a bad thing. Actually, I think it’s a good thing to take time out at any time to focus on gratitude, especially at stressful times like this. We are bombarded with negativity, which I find to be a huge burden. I have decided to follow the GEM way of thinking for a while, in the hope that I can lighten that burden.
Covid-19 is everywhere. Around the world, people are becoming sick, people are dying and others are being put into isolation, to avoid becoming ill. The pandemic is becoming worse than any of us could ever have imagined, and we are told the pandemic Is only just beginning in Australia.
Reflecting on gratitude has made me take time to stop and think about my own experience of life, instead of all the focus being on what the media are telling us. When I do this, it makes me realise that I am doing ok and really don’t have to worry too much.
Myself, my family and everyone in my networks and immediate circle are healthy and virus free at the moment. This is something to celebrate instead of dwelling on what could happen. When I hear any different, of course I will worry, but until then, I will be thankful for our health and wellness. I am forever grateful that, at my age, I am fairly fit and possibly not as high risk, as my age would suggest.
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position…..not to be confused with sympath. y – wikipedia
I truly do empathise with those who have been touched by the corona virus. It must be such a worrying time if yourself or your family or friends become ill with the virus. There is the worry we have for the elderly or frail in our lives, who are more susceptible to this illness.
I can easily empathise for those travellers who have had to put themselves into isolation. We have cancelled all our travel and holiday plans this year, as have many others.
I can empathise with those involved in the events that have had to be cancelled or postponed, across the country, and the disappointment of those ticket holders who were looking forward to attending.
I find it easy to empathise with those shoppers, who haven’t been stockpiling groceries, and now find they are unable to purchase the groceries including toilet paper, that they need. I see them daily at work, and listen to them talk about how disappointed, upset and distressed they are. I have particular empathy for the elderly, and really, really wish that the stockpilers would just stop.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experience occurring in the present moment. – wikipedia 9FIND OTHER MEANINGS)
Mindfulness is a practice that I’ve been trying to incorporate into my daily life for quite a while. Sometimes I remember, but often in the busy-ness of life, I forget. While the pandemic is ongoing, I plan to be mindful as I go about my day’s business. Mindful that I do all that I can to ensure that I stay healthy, especially handwashing and disinfecting, while continuing with a healthy diet with lots of green vegies. Surely, the more healthy I can keep myself, the less chance there is of succumbing to covid19.
Part of being mindful is knowing when enough bad news is enough. I rarely watch the television news, but lately have found myself turning it on after work, to catch up on that day’s corona virus news. I definitely feel more stressed afterwards, so have decided to go back to leaving the television off. I’m sure I will manage to keep up with the latest on social media. This doesn’t mean living in denial. I’m sure I will be able to keep up with the latest news without being overwhelmed by it, and without watching it for hours on end, if I’m mindful about it.
I’m very sure that practicing mindfulness during this time will help to counteract feelings of despair, hopelessness and anxiety. Mindfulness won’t keep this virus away, but it may lead to less panic. I’m fairly sure, but it’s only my opinion, that mindfulness could help build resilience, which would help us to recognise when feelings of overwhelm are building and cope with those feelings.
We are being told to wash our hands regularly for twenty seconds. It occurs to me that this is the ideal time for practicing mindfulness and reflection, or even a little meditation.
World Health Organisation – who.int
Calm
Recently, I posted that my one of my core values is Calmness.Reflection on this core value is what I need at the moment, while the world seems to be going crazy around me.
There was very little calmness in my life last week , at work. I completely lost focus while caught up in all the corona virus chaos. I am sure that the practice of G.E.M. will restore calmness in my life and keep it there. Even though I can empathise with the struggles we are all having at the moment, I do refuse from this point, to let these problems completely derail the way I want to live my life.
Are you struggling to cope with all the bad news around covid19? Do you have any coping strategies? I’d love to hear about them and promise to reply to all comments made.
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I love the idea of G.E.M. Jen and will be sharing your post on social media. It is so important to not get carried away when circumstances like COVID-19 present itself. I think the G.E.M. would work in any life situation and will be making a note for myself to incorporate this into daily life. Thanks for being part of the #MLSTL community and have a lovely day. xx
I’m pleased you were able to get something out of this post Sue. The world has gone a little bit crazy and we just need to keep seeing the good
Hi Jennifer – I’ve found this whole situation with the Corona virus so disappointing. The sheer lack of empathy for others, the greediness and self-servingness of people who are stockpiling and causing distress to others, the fear and anger that’s everywhere. I also feel for those who are stranded overseas or cancelling dream holidays, or at risk of losing their business as everything shuts down. On the other hand I’m so grateful to be well, to have sufficient, to have power and water, to know my mum and MIL are doing fine and that my family is all well – that’s the core of it for me. And not getting dragged into the madness, but stepping away from it and breathing deeply.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 😊
I feel exactly like you Leanne. I wish these selfish people would just stop it. We never would have foreseen something like this happening. Trying to look at the positives of life – and there are many
Jennifer, your acronym is a good way to live life in general, but especially now. The effects on our daily life has been minimal, but we did decide to cancel a much anticipated trip which was scheduled for late May. Doing that was a huge disappointment, but necessary.
People have been stocking up for weeks, just like us, and some are hoarding, but we have still managed to get what we need. All our markets are short on fresh vegetables, which is a bummer, so canned and frozen will have to do for now. People connected on our county-wide website are being exceedingly kind; offering to pick up things for those who can’t get to a store, or offering to share what they have. We haven’t witnessed the insanity that much of the country has, but I guess that is the difference between small town and big city.
I continue to believe that good will come from this and that hopefully we will learn from the experience.
Suzanne thanks for telling me how it is in your world at the moment. I didn’t expect all the selfishness of hoarding to occur where I work as it’s a very small community. But a large part of it is people coming in from the city and emptying our shelves.
I sparked up when I saw your title with G.E.M. in it. The person behind this is Victorian Hugh Van Cuylenburg “The Resilience Project” and I recently listened to his book on Audible. He has appeared on Conversations on ABC radio too. It is a great project which is literally growing from the ground up. Lots to learn and he even has a gratitude app.
Thanks for sharing this post, and for all you are doing in this time of “panic” buying.
Denyse. #mlstl
Thank you so much a Denyse. I was wishing I had the source and will go back and credit him on the post. I did hear about it on the ABC but not on Concersations. I will check out the interview. I was sorry to miss #lifethisweek due to #toiletpaperpanic. All set for next week.
Thank you Jennifer for this simple way to get back to mental health basics: G.E.M. I am grateful that I have been working on these very traits recently and unknowingly preparing myself mentally for this pandemic. Certainly, I still get overwhelmed on occasion, but I have these skills to fall back on. Stay safe and keeping practicing G.E.M!
You’re a very positive person Christie, and I’m sure this positiveness will help you get through whatever gets thrown at us during the pandemic. Our mental attitude is going to be so important in our immediate future. Take care x